In These New Times

1) THE GAZA KILLING FIELDS: DEMONSTRATE 10 JANUARY

NATIONAL DEMONSTRATION: SATURDAY 10 JANUARY   
STOP THE MASSACRE : ISRAEL OUT OF GAZA 
ASSEMBLE 12.30PM SPEAKERS CORNER,HYDE PARK   
(Nearest tube Marble Arch) Rally & speakers in Hyde park   
MARCH TO ISRAELI EMBASSY High St Kensington, London W8

Anyone with a shred of humanity who watches the video we   
feature below will do all they can to join the national   
demonstration in London this Saturday 10 January, and will   
encourage everyone they know to be there too.

In the video a Norwegian doctor working in a Gaza hospital   
he calls “Dante’s Inferno, hell”, describes how Palestinians   
– particularly the children, who are 50 percent of the 
population – are dying and suffering horrific injuries for   
the crime of being civilians living in Gaza. “They cannot   
flee as other populations can in war time because Israel has   
them trapped in a cage,” he says.

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE  http://www.stopwar.org.uk/ OR HERE   
http://tinyurl.com/9d572c

Over 600 Palestinians have been killed and over 3000   
injured. The numbers are rising sharply following the ground   
invasion. If Britain with a population of 60 million was   
Gaza, the proportionate number of deaths would be 24,000,   
with over 120,000 injured.

Israel has also systematically destroyed Gaza’s   
infrastructure. Two thirds of the people have no electricity   
and 750,000 have no running water. Hospitals are running on   
emergency generators, which are expected to fail at any   
moment. There is a desperate shortage of essential medical   
supplies. Many people are on the brink of starvation because   
the United Nations, on which 80 percent of the population   
depends for emergency food, has run out of many supplies and   
because it is too unsafe to transport what is still   
available.

As the Norwegian doctor in the Gaza hospital says, “This   
cannot go on. It is an all out war against the civilian   
population.” Please do all you can to communicate the same   
message as widely as possible and help make Saturday’s 
demonstration the largest ever mounted for Palestine in this   
country.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

* Get publicity materials from the Stop the War office 
(postcards) or website (leaflet to download and copy). 
Distribute them among your friends, family, neighbours, work   
colleagues, fellow students etc. Encourage them to join the   
demonstration and spread the word among their own contacts.   
Order postcards: Telephone 020 7278 6694   
Download leaflet: http://tinyurl.com/6svbt7

* There are local Stop the War groups across the country who   
will be doing all they can this week to mobilise the widest   
possible support for the demonstration. If you would like to   
help, contact the Stop the War office to see if there is a   
group in your area.

* Donate to the Stop the War Emergency Gaza Fund:   
http://tinyurl.com/3dhzpn

NATIONAL DEMONSTRATION: SATURDAY 10 JANUARY   
STOP THE MASSACRE : ISRAEL OUT OF GAZA 
ASSEMBLE 12.30PM SPEAKERS CORNER,HYDE PARK   
(Nearest tube Marble Arch) Rally & speakers in Hyde park   
MARCH TO ISRAELI EMBASSY High St Kensington, London W8

COACHES FROM OUTSIDE LONDON   
Towns and cities across Britain are organising coaches to   
bring protestors to London. Details are on the Stop the War   
website: http://preview.tinyurl.com/8r8s8y   
If you are organising a coach for your area please email the   
details to the national Stop the War office:   
office@stopwar.org.uk

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2) SHOES FOR THE WIDOWS AND ORPHANS

In the spirit of  Iraqi journalist Muntadar al-Zaidi, who   
used his shoes to protest over George Bush’s war crimes,   
hundreds of shoes were left at Downing Street during last   
week’s demonstration in London.  It was a news event that   
captured headlines across the world’s media.

We will repeat the symbolic protest this week by delivering   
shoes to the Israeli Embassy, the destination of our march.   
Please bring as many pairs of old shoes as you can, so, like   
Muntadar al-Zaidi, we can say, “This is for the widows and   
orphans and all those killed.”

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3) LONDON RALLY: THURSDAY 8 JANUARY   
WITH TONY BENN, TARIQ ALI AND GEORGE GALLOWAY MP

RALLY: STOP THE GAZA MASSACRE 
THURSDAY 8 JANUARY 7.30 PM   
FRIENDS MEETING HOUSE 
EUSTON RD, LONDON NW1 2BJ   
Map: http://tinyurl.com/7r9ez5. Nearest tube: Euston.

SPEAKERS: Tariq Ali , Tony Benn, George Galloway MP, Lindsey   
German (Stop the War), Sally Hunt (UCU), Hugh Lanning, 
Jeremy Corbyn MP, British Muslim Initiative speaker,   
Palestinian speaker.

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4) ALL SCOTLAND DEMONSTRATION 10 JANUARY

STOP THE MASSACRE: ISRAEL OUT OF GAZA 
DEMONSTRATION IN EDINBURGH   
SATURDAY 10 JANUARY 2009   
ASSEMBLE 12:30PM EAST MARKET STREET   
Behind Edinburgh Waverley train station   
MARCH THROUGH CITY CENTRE TO US CONSULATE

Bring in-date medicine for Gaza, and spare shoes.

Supported by Stop the War Scotland, Glasgow and Edinburgh,   
Pauline McNeil MSP, Sandra White MSP, Muslim Association of   
Britain, Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Glasgow   
Palestine Human Rights Campaign, Lebanese Community   
Scotland, Scottish Afghan Society, Scottish Islamic   
Foundation

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5) PLEASE DONATE TO OUR GAZA EMERGENCY FUND

Stop the War has no rich benefactors. We depend entirely on   
donations and membership subscriptions to fund our tiny   
office and all our antiwar activities through the year. When   
a major campaign arises, such as the Israeli atrocities in   
Gaza, we need to raise large amounts of extra funding to   
cover the costs of national demonstrations, rallies,   
leaflets, placards, banners etc.

The response to our Emergency Gaza Fund has been tremendous   
but we still need more funding if we are to make our Gaza   
campaign as effective as possible. Please donate as   
generously as you can. There are three ways to donate:

* ONLINE: http://tinyurl.com/3dhzpn

* BY POST: Cheques made to “Stop the War Coalition”. Send to   
27 Britannia Street, London WC1X 9JP

* BY CREDIT/DEBIT CARD: Telephone 020 7278 6694

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6) CAN YOU HELP STEWARD ON SATURDAY?

We anticipate a very big demonstration on Saturday and we   
need more volunteers to help us steward the day. If you can   
help please contact Shirley by phone or text on 07958 745802   
or call the national office on 020 7278 6694.

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7) VOLUNTEERS NEEDED AT THE STOP THE WAR OFFICE

We need volunteers in our national office over the next   
three days, as we prepare for the Saturday’s demonstration.   
Our office is at Kings Cross in London. If you have any time   
and would like to help, telephone 020 7278 6694 or email   
your contact details to office@stopwar.org.uk.

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8) HAROLD PINTER AND ADRIAN MITCHELL

Harold Pinter and Adrian Mitchell, two writers who spoke   
many times at Stop the War events and who were stalwarts of   
the peace movement for many decades , have died in the last   
month. They will be sorely missed.   
* Harold Pinter poems on war: http://tinyurl.com/9qz84f   
* Adrian Mitchell poem on war: http://tinyurl.com/a5hw6a

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9) COUNTERING ISRAEL’S LIE MACHINE

Many of our supporters have contacted Stop the War to ask   
what can be done to counteract the seemingly endless stream   
of Israeli propaganda, most of which absurdly presents 
Israel – the fourth largest military power in the world – as   
in some way the victim of the mass slaughter we are   
witnessing it inflict on Gaza.

Thankfully we don’t have to rely on the mainstream media to   
discover the reality behind Israel’s lie machine.  Here are   
some of the articles Stop the War has found invaluable over   
the past two weeks:

The Gaza Bloodbath   
By Mike Whitney: http://tinyurl.com/77s9q3

Understanding the Gaza Catastrophe   
By Richard Falk, UN representative in the Palestinian 
territories: http://tinyurl.com/8oxdt6

Stealing Gaza 
By Brian Eno: http://tinyurl.com/9fxufb

Why Israel went to war in Gaza 
By Chris McGreal: http://tinyurl.com/77qjd8

Israel’s Attempted Endgame in Gaza   
By Jennifer Loewenstein: http://tinyurl.com/7db4mn

Thoughts of an Israeli ex-soldier:   
http://tinyurl.com/9d5xg5

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NATIONAL DEMONSTRATION: SATURDAY 10 JANUARY   
STOP THE MASSACRE : ISRAEL OUT OF GAZA 
ASSEMBLE 12.30PM SPEAKERS CORNER, HYDE PARK   
Rally & speakers in Hyde park 
MARCH TO ISRAELI EMBASSY   
High St Kensington, London W8 
Nearest tube Marble Arch